The present invention relates to a clip for fixing a sash molding to a door pillar of a vehicle such as an automobile, and more particularly to a clip having a lip for closing a gap between a sash molding and a door pillar.
It is well known to provide an automobile door with a frame extending along the upper edge thereof to receive a door glass, and a sash molding for covering the frame and an edge of the glass. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a sash molding 2 is disposed along the upper edge of a front door 1 to extend from the front side to the rear side of the upper edge of the door 1 in the moving direction of an automobile. A door pillar 6 for movably supporting a window glass 5 extends vertically toward a rear end portion 3 of the sash molding 2.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a circled area II in FIG. 1. Section line III—III in FIG. 2 represents the location of several different sectional views to be described. As shown in FIG. 2, The sash molding 2 is disposed to cover the upper end of the door pillar 6 to provide a good appearance. A portion of the sash molding 2 including the end portion 3 is fixed to the door pillar 6 by a sash-molding clip 7 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, which are sectional views taken along the line III—III in FIG. 2. The sash-molding clip 7 is inserted into a cavity in the end portion 3 of the sash molding 2 to close the cavity in order to provide a good appearance. The clip 7 includes a fastener (not shown) adapted to be fixed to the door pillar 6 to attach the sash molding 2 to the door pillar 6.
Although the sash-molding clip 7 shown in FIG. 3(A) is capable of fixing the sash molding 2 to the door pillar, a gap 9 is formed between the door pillar 6 and the lower edge of the sash molding 2, which detracts from the appearance and the sealing performance against rainwater or the like. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3(B), a lip 10 made of a soft plastic material is bonded to the lower edge of the sash molding 2 opposed to the door pillar 6 in a length extending over the entire width of the door pillar 6, to close the gap 9 when the sash molding 2 is attached to the door pillar 6. While the lip 10 can be bonded to the sash molding 2 with adhesive, such an operation carried out in a mass production assembly line has poor productivity, and a certain level of skill is required to bond the lip 10 reliably and stably, resulting in increased cost.
Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 03-51616 discloses a structure in which a protruded piece extending over the gap between a sash molding and a door pillar is formed in a glass run (a member for receiving the edge of a movable window glass) to serve as a gasket or packing. This structure is intended to form the glass run extending over a window frame in a specific configuration to close the gap. A sash-molding clip is not used to close the gap. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07-186724 discloses an end cap adapted to be inserted into an end portion of a sash molding of an automobile door to close the end portion. This end cap includes a lock portion, and a pillar cover of a door pillar includes a hook for receiving the lock portion. When the end cap is inserted into the molding, the lock portion is positioned adjacent to the door pillar. Then, the hook of the pillar is engaged with the lock portion to maintain the pillar cover in position relative to the sash molding. There is no suggestion of a lip for closing a gap between the sash molding and the door pillar. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-300953 discloses a glass run structure for improving a sealing function and a function of guiding a window glass. This glass run structure is intended to provide a continuous appearance between front and rear doors, but there is no lip to close a gap between the sash molding and a door pillar, nor is there a sash-molding clip to close the gap.